TO STRICTLY FOLLOW THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES IN ANSWERING BELOW 05 QUESTIONS.

You should refer ONLY following academic text books for answering below questions & NOT web sites:
• Lynch, R.(2006) Corporate Strategy, Prentice Hall, London (note that later editions are available under the title ‘Strategic Management’).
• Johnson, G., Scholes, K. and Whittington, R. (2014) Exploring Corporate Strategy, Prentice Hall, London (the 2008 edition is also available as an ebook; Indian edition available).
• Johnson, G. Scholes, K Whittington, R. (2012) Fundamentals of Strategy, Prentice Hall, London (the 2009 edition is also available as an e-book).
• Grant, R. M. (2010) Contemporary Strategy Analysis, Wiley, London.
Questions
1. Outline the key strategic options for organisations operating in high-technology sectors. Evaluate the relative merits of each option making use of examples to illustrate your answer.
– Brief introduction
– Main body:
o Demonstrate an understanding of the special context of high-technology sectors (e.g. short product life-cycles; the impact of disruptive technologies – see lecture notes, text book for other points)
o Describe the key options – the most relevant model is Afuah’s ‘block, run, team-up’ model (see lecture notes and further reading)
o Consider the advantages and disadvantages of each of the 3 options
o Use examples to illustrate the points above – e.g. how did Microsoft or IBM use the different options? What were the benefits / drawbacks to them? See the IBM/Microsoft video (Moodle link) or other egs from Afuah’s writings.
– Conclusion: May address questions like – Is one particular option always best? Does it depend on the context? Should a combination be used?

2. Discuss the nature of sustainable competitive advantage and assess the challenges of achieving it with reference to organisational examples.
– Brief introduction
– Main body:
o Define SCA and describe it’s key features (see lecture & text book notes). You could refer to types of CA here – cost, differentiation, focus.
o Evaluate the challenges – the main ones are the challenge of achieving environmental consonance and the challenge of competitor attack. Consider how these challenges may be addressed – for example, examine the isolating mechanisms framework covered in the lecture.
o Illustrate the points above with reference to examples – e.g. Ryanair or other relevant examples
– Conclusion: what is your overall advice for firms facing the challenge of achieving SCA?

3. Critically examine the differences between the prescriptive and the emergent approaches to strategy development.
– Brief introduction
– Main body:
o Define both terms
o Process diagrams for each will aid a description of each approach to strategy. Be sure to draw out the main differences in your descriptions.
o Your critical examination will weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of each approach – these are summarised in the lecture slides and also covered in most strategy text books.
– Conclusion: here you may take a view as to which is the better approach, or you may conclude that it depends on the context.
4. Assess the advantages and disadvantages of strategic planning in small businesses.
o Brief introduction
o Main body:
o Discuss what is meant by strategic planning
o Outline what is different about the small business sector – this will help to explain why approaches to planning may be different
o Weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of planning – see the lecture notes for help with this.
o You may perhaps present effectuation as an alternative to strategic planning in small businesses
o Conclusion: here you may give your own assessment of whether strategic planning is a good or a bad thing for small businesses.
5. “Effective strategic change requires a discontinuous approach to be adopted”. Critically evaluate this statement.
o Brief introduction
o Main body:
o Define / describe the nature of strategic change
o Define discontinuous change and compare it to continuous change.
o Weigh up the two approaches by considering their advantages and disadvantages (see lecture notes plus recommended text reading)
o You could draw on case examples – eg the Sri Lankan construction business 5. How effective was the approach used in this case and did it have some disadvantages?
o Conclusion – conclude directly in relation to the question – based on your assessment, is the statement correct?